(This story originally appeared in on Mar 13, 2022)

With Congress calling a meeting of the apex body CWC on Sunday evening to discuss the rout in the recently concluded five state elections, all eyes are on party chief Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi siblings, amid mounting concerns in the rank and file about the future.

The meeting will feature the AICC managers who conducted the elections, which includes Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who is in-charge of UP as Rahul Gandhi who is a key figure in decision-making, besides Sonia Gandhi.

Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, part of the dissident group G-23, are members of the CWC.

The eve of the scheduled brainstorming lived up to the turmoil brewing in Congress as media reports emerged that the Gandhis would tender their resignations owning responsibility. As the report put out by a news channel went viral, Congress, in a surprising move, came out rebutting it by naming the news organisation. AICC spokesman Randeep Surjewala tweeted, “The news story of alleged resignations… is completely unfair, mischievous and incorrect. It is unfair for a TV channel to carry such unsubstantiated propaganda stories emanating from imaginary sources at the instance of ruling BJP.”

Their reaction to the continuing slide of Congress is a subject of hot discussion — whether they will adopt the “told you so” tone or go on the offensive against the leadership. Some members of the bloc, which includes Haryana strongman Bhupinder Hooda, met at Azad’s residence on Friday evening to discuss their plan ahead.

The CWC meet will be a large gathering that will include the “permanent invitees” and “special invitees” – an average attendance of above 60 members.

Given that media speculation about party affairs are rarely responded to, the decision to clamp down on reports of potential resignations appeared an unusual step by the leadership. Sources said it underscored the uncertainty in the party in the wake of the electoral drubbing. There are fears that such reports, if allowed to go unchecked, will intensify the flux within, given how Rahul Gandhi’s impulsive resignation after the decimation in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls set in an organisational drift. The emergence of G-23 is also rooted in the vacuum created after Rahul’s resignation. There were also rumours that a senior leader may be appointed the party chief in place of Sonia.

The message from the party brass appeared that it is not the time for what is dubbed as “resignation drama”, but an hour demanding serious introspection on the road ahead.

After the debacle, G-23 leader Azad told TOI that “senior leaders like him who have given their life and youth, blood and sweat, to Congress cannot watch the party dying like this” and that “the situation is alarming for Congress”.